1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle wheel trim assemblies and, more particularly, to trim rings and wheel covers. Within this field of invention, the present invention, more particularly, relates to improvements in securing spring retention clips to such wheel trim assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many problems have been encountered with trim rings and wheel covers and their attachment to vehicle wheels. The operative part that places the primary role in effecting this attachment to the vehicle wheel is the spring retention clips which must, on one hand, be of resilient material and, on the other hand, must be incorporated and integrated into the manufacturing of the trim ring or wheel cover, as the case may be, without undue expense or complication. In the past, the spring retention clips were formed of the same material as the trim ring and wheel cover which, in many cases, was stainless steel. This resulted in substantial waste of material as well as a relatively inferior spring retention clip.
With this problem in mind, many prior art patents sought to resolve the basic problem with spring retention clips by providing multi component wheel trim assemblies. Typical examples of these prior art wheel trim assemblies are as folloows:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,945,348, 2,304,583, 2,410,174, 2,431,338, 2,493,001, 2,544,705, 2,581,424, 2,581,425, 2,713,517, 2,714,041, 2,827,332, 2,828,160, 2,939,744, 3,043,632, 3,071,416, 3,168,349, 3,425,747, 3,703,318, 3,746,397, 3,757,400, 3,771,834, 3,794,385, 3,868,147, 3,973,801, and 4,131,322.
None of these patents have achieved a highly reliable multi component wheel trim assembly which results in a highly effective and resilient spring retention clip which is inexpensive to manufacture and can be effectively and efficiently integrated with the high volume manufacturing techniques employed in manufacturing products of this type.